January 1, 1970

The painting he gave Truman in 1951 was a view of Marrakech (painted c. 1948), and bears remarkable similarities to the one he painted during the War and gave to Roosevelt. In 1951, Margaret, Truman’s daughter, had been invited to lunch at 10 Downing Street during a visit to London and was asked by Churchill if she would take the painting back with her, as a gift to her father. Margaret was ‘delighted to assist’ and duly transported the painting back to her father. Truman: ‘I can’t find words adequate to express my appreciation of the beautiful picture … I shall treasure the picture as long as I live and it will be one of the most valued possessions I will be able to leave to Margaret when I pass on.’ It duly hung in the Truman family home until his death in 1972 and then , as he’d wished, passed to Margaret, to then be hung in her New York apartment, where it stayed, unseen by the outside world, until it was offered at auction in 2007.